


"If Love Can Go Sideways"

by A_Hundred_Jewels



Category: The Penderwicks Series - Jeanne Birdsall
Genre: F/F, Meeting for the first time, mostly canonical except not really, supermarket, supermarket love, supreme awkwardness, this is just what i imagine sabrina starr to look like, you can sort of perceive this how you want to
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-02
Updated: 2019-03-02
Packaged: 2019-11-08 05:21:31
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,213
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17975207
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/A_Hundred_Jewels/pseuds/A_Hundred_Jewels
Summary: Jane had told herself that this was what she needed. An author needs her privacy. Unfortunately, privacy can be a bit dull when said author is an extreme romantic who’d been obsessed with romance since she was eleven.Jane Penderwick has been avoiding romance for years, but she's finally admitting to herself that she misses it dearly. Once day she meets the beautiful Sabrina Starr while grocery shopping.





	"If Love Can Go Sideways"

**Author's Note:**

> So, this is minorly based some of Jane's fantasies as an eleven year old in The Penderwicks At Point Mouette. At that point, she is obsessed with the idesa of Sabrina Starr falling in love. One of her attempts involves Sabrina meeting someone at the supermarket. Well, in this story, Sabrina does, in fact, meet someone at the supermarket. And that someone is Jane, herself.
> 
> (This is just what I think of Sabrina Starr looking and being like. Other people probably have their own opinions. This is mine.)
> 
> These characters belong to Jeanne Birdsall, and they are beautiful so we should all be thanking her. However, this story is mine. Let me know what you think in the comments!

Jane was lonely. So lonely, in fact, that she was actually admitting to herself that she was lonely. Her sisters were all deliriously in love. (Even eleven year old Lydia, sort of. Jane wasn’t sure about Ben though). Jane, though, had nobody. Not even a crush. 

She had told herself that this was what she needed. An author needs her privacy. Unfortunately, privacy can be a bit dull when said author is an extreme romantic who’d been obsessed with romance since she was eleven.

Jane hadn’t gone out with anybody since high school (she always shuddered at those memories). She had loved the fact that she was dating someone, but not the person she was actually dating. Skye had sometimes called her few significant others “the ideas Jane loved.” After a while, Jane had stopped protesting. 

She loved the whooshing feeling of a crush, but the parts that came beyond were usually uncomfortable. Even kissing. Since her disastrous first kiss with Dominic Orne, she’d been wary of the experience for several years. It was probably good that she had stopped dating, Jane knew, but how she longed to fall in love. 

 

The grocery store was unforgivingly cold. As usual, Jane had been thinking about the novel she was trying to write, and had completely forgotten to bring a sweater. Shivering, she rubbed her arms, and grabbed a basket. 

Despite her limited supply of money, Jane got some chocolate. It was a must. After a long hard day of waitressing (a profession that Jane was rather bad at), there was nothing like a square of chocolate to calm her before she started writing or went to Rosalind’s for dinner or did whatever she was planning to do. 

Bread, apples, and hot dogs all went into the basket, before Jane went to look for cheese. No matter how many times she’d been to this grocery store, no matter how many times she bought cheese, she could never remember where it was. Finally, after quite a lot of hunting, Jane found it. There was another person there, though. Her long, black hair almost obscured her face from view, but Jane caught a glimpse of a pale, turned up nose, sprinkled with freckles. She was wearing a long, sleeveless, lavender dress, but didn’t seem as cold as Jane was in a T-shirt and jeans. Jane had the sudden urge to attempt tidying her own curly brown hair, which was escaping her messy bun. 

The girl looked up from the cheese and Jane saw that her eyes were piercingly blue. “Oh, I’m sorry,” she said shyly. “Were you trying to get something?” Perhaps Jane had been blue from cold before, but she now was tomato red from the sight of this unfairly beautiful person. “I-I, um, was, getting-some-cheese,” Jane stammered. Smooth, she thought to herself. This girl probably thought she was a complete weirdo. Oddly, though, she didn’t seem at all fazed by Jane’s peculiar behaviour. In fact, she also appeared to be subject to a light blush. Which was completely unfair, Jane thought, because even that looked great on her.

“Well,” the girl said, “I suppose that is we both need cheese, we both should get cheese.”   
“I-yes,” was Jane’s fantastic reply.   
“I’m Sabrina,” by the way,” the girl said.  
“Jane.” They both grabbed at the cheese, seemingly needing to focus on something else, and ignore the fact that it was quite strange to exchange names while shopping for cheese. Naturally, they also both grabbed at the exact same block of cheddar, causing their hands to brush. 

The touch of Sabrina’s hand sent a shock of warmth up Jane’s bare arm, and she blushed a deeper shade of red. “I, um, think I need to get kale,” Sabrina said. “Me too!” Jane almost shouted. She had never actually bought kale before, thinking it bitter and disgusting. For some reason, though, the urge to stay near this goddess of a girl was strong enough for Jane to actually consider buying the revolting vegetable. 

Together they walked in a slightly awkward silence toward an array of different salad leaves in plastic bags. This is why I stick to normal vegetables, Jane thought. She picked out a reasonably small bag of kale and stood back to watch Sabrina in the least creepy way that she could think of. (Jane had a feeling it was still pretty creepy). She no longer cared if it was creepy when Sabrina turned around, though. She no longer cared about anything except the fact that, for an instant, Sabrina’s sparkling blue eyes locked with her own dark brown ones, and Sabrina smiled. Jane couldn’t help but smile back. 

At that moment, Jane’s phone began to buzz relentlessly. She pulled it out of her pocket, ready to murder whomever had called. It actually turned out to be the alarm she had set to remind herself that she was supposed to have dinner with Rosalind and Tommy that night. It was a reminder that she’d needed, having completely forgotten about it. 

“I forgot,” she said to Sabrina, “I told my sister that I’d have dinner at her house tonight. “Oh,” Sabrina seemed disappointed, which made Jane irrationally pleased. “Well,” Sabrina continued. “Maybe I could call you sometime?” Jane’s heart skipped a beat at the request, and she smiled.   
“Absolutely. What’s your number?”  
“Here, I’ll write it down. Do you have any paper?” Of course Jane had paper. All good writers had paper at all times. She could have found it in an instant. Yet-  
“Why don’t you write it on my arm? Then I won’t lose it.” It was one of the absolute lamest excuses she could have come up with to get Sabrina to touch her arm. It was also quite effective. Jane didn’t fully realize why she’d done it until Sabrina’s pen was writing on her outstretched arm. Below the number, it said Sabrina Starr in slanting, loopy handwriting. Jane grinned. Sabrina Starr. Gorgeous. 

“Well,” she said to Sabrina. “I will certainly call you.”  
“Please do. Goodbye Miss-” she paused.  
“Penderwick,” Jane supplied. Sabrina smiled, softly.  
“Goodbye, Miss Jane Penderwick.”  
“See you around, Miss Sabrina Starr.”

 

At the checkout counter, the cashier (his badge said Bert) noticed the phone number written on Jane’s left arm. “Congratulations,” he said. “Sorry?” Jane looked up, confused. “Archie and I were watching you two. Not in a creepy way of course. We were just hoping you finally get each other’s numbers, or something. So, yeah. Nice going.” Jane couldn’t help but laugh. “Archie?” she asked. “Guy behind me,” Bert replied, jerking his thumb over his shoulder. Jane looked, and a tall reedy man gave her a thumbs up. Bert leaned across the counter. “Thing is,” he said. “We see Sabrina in here a lot. She works for the ACLU, and she’ll often come in to the cafe to work on papers and stuff.” Jane’s heart warmed to Sabrina even more. “What I’m saying, though, is that we see her a lot, and she always looks lonely. So, if you guys do go out, which you should, treat her right.” Jane smiled as he bagged her small collection of groceries. She handed over her payment. “I promise I will.” Bert nodded in return. “Have a good day, miss.” “You too.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks so much for reading! Let me know what you think. Please don't hate, but constructive criticism is always welcome. -A_Hundred_Jewels


End file.
